Researchers in all disciplines are increasingly expecting to be able to undertake a variety of research-associated tasks online. These range from collaborative activities with colleagues around the globe through to information-seeking activities in an electronic library environment. Many of the tools which enable these activities to take place are already available within the local IT infrastructure. However, in many cases, the tools are provided through discrete, bespoke interfaces with few links between them. Researchers face a number of challenges in this environment, including multiple methods of authentication and authorisation, finding information and sharing information between applications.

The EVIE Project will address these issues by testing the integration and deployment of key existing software components within a portal framework.